1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a back mirror device for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a back mirror device for vehicle, which provides an increased range of the backward sight in the width direction of the vehicle and can dispense with any side back mirror.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, back mirrors of a vehicle for confirming vehicles and autobikes running behind the vehicle consist of a pair of side back mirrors extending outwardly from the opposite sides of the vehicle slightly ahead of a front seat and a transversely elongate inside back mirror provided at a position forwardly and upwardly of the front seat.
However, the usual side back mirror is obstructive for it projects outwardly from the vehicle, and it is liable to give rise to an accident of contact with a passers-by or an approaching vehicle on a narrow road. Besides, the side back mirror has a narrow slight range.
Further, the transversely elongate inside back mirror provided forwardly and upwardly of the front seat reflects a rearward image outside the vehicle that is incident through a rear window glass at a rear seat. Therefore, the backward scene that is reflected may be obstructed by the head of a passenger who is seated in the rear seat. Further, the effective sight line connecting the rear window glass and inside back mirror has a inclination angle, so that it is impossible to see the backward scene down to the rear portion of the vehicle. Still further, although the narrowness of the backward slight range is covered by using the side back mirrors and inside back mirror in combination, when paying attention in the backward direction each side back mirror and inside back mirror have to be looked at alternately, so that it is liable that the driver momentarily neglects the attention in the forward direction.
The invention has been intended in the light of the problems discussed above inherent in the prior art vehicle back mirrors, and it is predicated in a consideration that the above problems could be solved by providing an upwardly projecting housing in a portion of the ceiling of the vehicle slightly ahead of a front seat, providing a transparent window at the rear end of the upwardly projecting housing and providing a transversely alongate back mirror on the inner side of a front wall of the upwardly projecting housing.
Specifically, the primary ofject of the invention is to provide a back mirror device for vehicle, which provides an increased backward sight range in the width direction of the vehicle.
A second object of the invention is to provide a back mirror device for a vehicle, which can extend the backward sight range down to a position at a considerably low level.
A third object of the invention is to provide a back mirror for vehicle, which despenses with any side back mirror extending outwardly from a side of the vehicle and is free from an accident of contact with a passer-by or an approaching vehicle on a narrow road.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide a back mirror device for a vehicle, which permits confirmation of the backward scene without possibility of neglecting attention in the forward direction by merely looking at a single back mirror.
The above and other objects and novel features of the invention will become more apparent when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, it being construed, however, that the drawings are provided for the purpose of illustration only and without any sense of limiting the scope of the invention.